N.C. Department of Labor officials urge those who work outdoors to prepare for one of the most dangerous summertime workplace hazards—hot and humid weather. Thousands of workers face the threat of heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke every summer.

“Employers and employees need to take the hot and humid conditions seriously and prepare for them,” Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said. “For example, they should plan the heaviest work during the coolest part of the day and drink plenty of water. Water is your best friend on a hot and humid day in the North Carolina.”

The Labor Department is kicking off its heat stress campaign June 21, the first day of summer. During the hot summer months, safety and health officers will emphasize the effects of the heat to employers and employees. In addition, the department will create public awareness through webinars, advertising, trade publications and educational heat stress materials.

State Controller David McCoy has begun the expansion of CJLEADS (Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services) to criminal justice professionals in Henderson, Transylvania, Polk, Rutherford, Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Macon, Swain and Jackson counties. At a recent event, area legislators as well as criminal justice professionals (law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judges, magistrates and clerks) in the respective counties.

CJLEADS integrates data found within the state’s various criminal justice applications and provides up-to-date criminal information in a centralized location via a secure connection for use by state and local government criminal justice professionals. CJLEADS has two primary objectives: to provide a comprehensive view of an offender through a single application, allowing for positive identification of an offender through a photographic image; and to provide an “offender watch” capability to alert criminal justice professionals when an offender has a change in status.

Last week, the Macon County News reported on a petition filed by a Highlands parent and an organization called Save Our Summers North Carolina that challenges the legality of the alternative 2011-2012 calendar for Macon County Schools recently approved by the State Board of Education. In it’s lede, the story referred to the organization involved in the petition as “a tourism and business lobby group.”

“We are not a tourism and business lobby group – at all,” says Louise Lee, one of the original founders of the non-profit SOS-NC and its sole registered lobbyist.

According to Lee, a mother and former teacher of 14 years for Wake County Public Schools, SOS-NC is a volunteer coalition of parents, grandparents, education professionals and others who seek to establish, protect and maintain a more traditional school calendar for elementary and secondary schools throughout the state.

Number of murders up from 2009, AG Roy Cooper says

A total of 107 North Carolinians lost their lives in domestic violence murders in 2010, an increase from the previous year, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.

“Domestic violence is a dangerous crime and can lead to deadly results,” Cooper said. “North Carolina has to work to get victims the help they need and to stop early signs of violence before people are seriously hurt and killed.”